Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

206 reviews

amandaacat's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Absolutely beautifully written, this story is a heartfelt letter written by a son to his mother. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent

beautifulistheword's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

gabbyolsen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hauntingly beautiful writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

kelsey_kels's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment

joyroseyd's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The prose in this book is absolutely beautiful. I listened to the audiobook version where it’s read by the author themself and it added a whole other layer of depth and emotion into the book. (Highly recommend!) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lanid's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Death of parent

maiking's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and War

jasminrain's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is one of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read in my life. I really enjoyed the use of language and the way in which the author described the world with buffalos, butterflies and the kind. That being said, war and history aren't exactly interests of mine so the book didn't quite live up to the hype for me.  I can certainly understand why people are so obsessed with it though and I'm keen on exploring other books written by Vuong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Violence, and Alcohol

ixris's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Devastating. As in I felt like I was destroyed several times while reading this. 

Buckle in for trauma. 

Fantastic and beautiful and painful and horrible all at once. 

I will never rec this book to anyone bc wow it's not for the faint of heart. But it was for me and I look forward to rereading in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War

dan_tee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Writing this almost immediately after finishing and I'm struggling to put into words my feelings. 

Part fiction, part autobiography, this epistolary novel presses a weight upon something deep inside me. 

The prose is beautiful all throughout, as are the poems. In parts it's like reading a song, the author singing and baring their soul. 

It's heartwrenching and beautiful. 

This book is not written for me; a boring, straight white British man in his 30s. But that's not to say I didn't get something from it. Vuong exposes parts of him which rarely touch light, and in doing so illuminates memories and evokes feelings lost to me. 

The areas which are foreign to me are made relatable by the carefully painted imagery he creates through the pages, and a direct manifestation of Little Dog, who glides between Ocean and the character, blending facsimile with truth so you're left feeling like you know both beings. 

I'm sure people who can relate to the character more physically and culturally will get even more from this. 

This novel is full of familial struggle, frustration, grief, poverty, death, and so, so much gentle but blinding love. The empathy Oceans writing displays towards everyone, alongside the open-hearted spotlight on Little Dogs struggles, acts as a pilot light throughout. 

I need space and time to further process this. Like a stone thrown into the river, I'm sure time will dull some of the intensity this has left me with, but I hope the I continue to remember the weight of this, and how it sank me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Death of parent, and War